Such Great Heights
by divine energy
Summary: All love stories start somewhere - with a pretty girl and boy who could be real sweet.


Okay, so I'm not Cherry's biggest fan, but I've recently decided that I totally ship Bob and Cherry. Oh, and I don't own the Outsiders. That's it, happy reading!

* * *

Cherry Valance stroked through her long red hair one more time. "I'm not sure," she muttered, holding it protectively.

Marcia rolled her eyes, and Gina grinned wildly. "You said you wanted to."

They were kneeling on Cherry's bed, pouring over a spread of five magazines. The latest one was a particularly green cover with Colleen Corby on the front cover, advertising the 'Biggest Fashion Issue Ever', going on in detail about "a new hairdo, for every girl, for every occasion."

Cherry frowned down at it, then back at her hair.

"Girls!"

Cherry jumped and the scissors went flying out of Marcia's hands.

"Yes, Mom?" Cherry called back, grimacing to herself.

"Did I ask you to _help _me, or did I ask you to gossip up in your room?" At that, Cherry swung her legs off the bed, and gently placed the scissors they'd been toying with on her bedside table, where she would be able to keep a watch on them. She felt like she needed a change, and Marcia's advice had been a haircut.

It made a lot of sense, but Cherry didn't want to chop her hair up like all the models were doing nowadays. As Marcia and Gina slipped their shoes on, Cherry glanced once more at the cover of _Seventeen_ magazine, where Colleen Corby's hair barely reached her shoulders. This is why she preferred to listen to Gina, she thought to herself. Marcia was full of hair-brained comments that made Cherry double take.

They trotted downstairs, where Cherry's mother was in the kitchen, gently placing strawberries onto a cake that was covered in cream. Marcia squealed when she saw it, and immediately went to pluck a strawberry off.

Cherry's mother swatted her hand away. "Not now, Marcia dear," she said pleasantly.

"You need us to help?" Cherry reminded her mother, laughing at Marcia, whose face had fallen in disappointment.

"Yes," her mother said distractedly. "Yes, I need you girls to set out the champagne glasses."

"When are they getting here?" Cherry asked, crossing briskly to the cupboard and beginning to load champagne glasses into Marcia and Gina's arms.

"Well," her mother said, brushing back the dark red hair from her face and concentrating on the placement of the strawberries. "What time is it now, dear?"

"Just gone five," said Gina, who was gazing down at the glasses she was holding as if she could keep them from dropping by simply looking at them.

"Well, we said around seven," Cherry's mother said. "But I have so much to do. I have to finish this cake, and then I've got to get dressed and fix my hair. I'll fix yours, if you like, girls," she added. Cherry blushed at the mention of _hair, _imagining her mother's appalled expression if she came down one day with cropped hair.

Cherry's friends nodded eagerly – Mrs. Valance was _very _good at getting dolled up. Cherry would roll her eyes, but compared to their own mothers, Cherry's was quite glamorous, and any time spent gushing over fashion tips or time spent beautifying themselves with her was not time wasted.

"And then, would you girls be able to hang up the decorations?" her mother continued. Cherry, Gina and Marcia transported the piles of champagne glasses, and while Gina and Marcia waited, Cherry took them one by one and deposited them in rows on one of the tables.

"Of course we will," Cherry said as she re-entered the kitchen, the two girls in tow. "Where are they?"

"They're being delivered at five thirty," her mother told her as she wiped her hands on her apron.

"Is there anything else that needs doing?" Cherry asked. Her mother smiled at her.

"Well I put the appetizers in the refrigerator, and the chicken is cooking – can you keep an eye on it?" Cherry nodded. "And then, if you wouldn't mind just cleaning up the room a little?"

With a pleasant smile, Cherry nodded.

Cherry's mother breathed out a tired sigh and untied her apron. "Alright, I'd better go get dressed."

"It's not even five thirty yet!" Cherry protested, but her mother smiled at her knowingly.

"I know Sherri dear, but I need to take a shower first, and then I'll have to put my face on," she laughed.

"Ooh, Mrs. Valance," said Marcia excitedly. "Can you show me how you do that thing with your mascara?"

"Of course, dear," Cherry's mother replied. "Later, of course. Can you do those things for me first?"

"Oh, yes," Marcia said quickly, her cheeks going scarlet. Cherry's mother hung her apron up on a hook on the back of the kitchen door and winked at the girls.

"Oh," she said then. "Before I forget – Robert said he'd come over to help set up a little after five so he should be here soon enough."

"Who?" Cherry asked her mother, who blinked at her and frowned admonishingly.

"Robert is Mr. and Mrs. Sheldon's son," she prodded. "And he thought that he'd like to help with his parents' anniversary party." Cherry hid her frown from her mother, but she couldn't place who she was talking about at all.

Her mother rolled her eyes. "Well, he'll be here soon enough. _Be nice," _she added pointedly. Cherry smiled sheepishly and flushed, but she nodded and her mother hurried upstairs to take a shower.

"I guess we'd better get started on the cleaning," Gina said, smirking.

"Yeah," Marcia laughed. "The whole night'll be a disaster if those champagne glasses don't shine." She laughed heartily at that, and Cherry had to shake her head fondly at her friend's odd sense of humour.

They spent about twenty minutes cleaning through the champagne glasses, making them sparkle as Marcia insisted. Gina, who was always helpful and independent, took out the vacuum cleaner and swept it over the room without needing to be asked, and Cherry and Marcia set to dusting the place down, near the windows and along the mantelpiece and fireplace. After they'd fluffed pillows and removed things like Cherry's books, or her sisters' toys, they collapsed onto the chairs and admired their handiwork.

The decorations were late, and so was Robert Sheldon. He arrived first, at five forty-five. The three girls had only just finished their hard work and were taking a few minutes to relax in the chairs.

He rang the doorbell, and Cherry groaned. She'd never met the kid, but if he was anything like his parents, she wasn't sure that she would like him a whole lot. His parents were nice people, and always pleasant enough, but they held up their noses higher in the air than Cherry's family, which was saying something.

He rang again, and Gina pushed her off the sofa gently, nudging her to go answer it. Exasperated, Cherry threw the door open, and Robert Sheldon wrinkled his nose.

"I was afraid nobody was home," he remarked. Cherry opened her mouth to reply that they were very clearly home, but he was talking again. "But I guess you were busy. Or lazy," he added. Cherry's eyebrows shot up, and she heard Gina and Marcia giggle to themselves. Immediately, she wanted to slam the door in his face. She felt like he was invading something personal to her, the way he looked around him like he wasn't sure if he approved.

"I suppose you wanna come in," Cherry said coldly.

He flashed a brilliant grin at her, and in spite of herself, Cherry felt her heart flutter gently. He was a handsome boy, she wasn't going to deny that – though she wished she could. Something about the way he held himself in such confidence made her look twice at him. "Don't worry, the day has been saved," he replied just as coolly, sidling past her. Her face slid into an aggravated scowl, and she shoved the door closed. Maybe it was arrogance she was picking up on.

He stood in the room, glancing around him, and Cherry felt her skin was beginning to crawl. He didn't look too impressed.

Robert looked around, and sure enough he had something to say. "I hoped it would be bigger." He had his hands jammed in his pocket, and he sniffed.

"It's plenty big," Cherry replied hotly, folding her arm across her chest.

"Are you gonna vacuum before people get here?" he asked.

Cherry's mouth fell open, and after staring at him for a second, trying not to admire him as she did, she let out a huff and marched into the kitchen. Gina and Marcia followed suit.

"I didn't realize _he _was who your mom was talking about," Gina hissed. Cherry rolled her eyes. Marcia's eyes were wide.

"I thought he was funny," she commented.

Cherry shook her head. "Place isn't big enough..." she grumbled. The Sheldons were very good friends of her mother and her stepfather, and as far as she knew, it had been Robert's "lovely, kind idea" to throw them a party for their twenty-fifth anniversary. Somehow, Cherry had never met either of their sons, and now she was wishing she hadn't. She didn't love the Sheldons, but they were pleasant people – it was fascinating how quickly she could take a dislike to someone.

"What am I supposed to do?" she asked her friends, who shrugged their shoulders.

"C'mon Cherry," Gina said. "Don't let him ruin your night."

"Thinks he's too good for this place," Cherry muttered to herself.

"Maybe he is," Marcia said quietly. Gina stared at her for a minute, looking like she'd like to thwack her over the head.

With a sigh, Cherry left the kitchen. Robert was examining the champagne glasses. "Are you gonna clean these?" he asked.

Cherry scowled at him. "They've been cleaned."

Robert looked at her – for the first time, actually looked at her - and noticed that she wasn't impressed. He set it down. "That's okay then."

Cherry placed her hands on her hips and tried not to look too sour. Her mother had always taught her to hide her emotions, not let on, especially to boys. Gina ran to get the door when the decorations arrived, once it became clear that Cherry wasn't going to move.

He criticized the decorations too, once he saw them. In no time, Cherry could feel a massive headache coming on, and though she tried to block it out, his sepulchral voice managed to waft into her brain. Before a single guest had arrived, her mouth was in a thin, taut line and she feared her head would explode.

* * *

Adults' laughter boomed from the room, and Cherry sat at the kitchen table, holding her head in her hands. Gina and Marcia had to go home, since their parents had left early and taken their daughters with them. So Cherry had snuck upstairs and brought back down the _Seventeen _magazine, resigned to waitressing for her mother and stepfather's friends for the rest of the night.

She was still looking at the article about the new hairdo, and was thinking to herself about change. She wanted a change. But her long red hair was like her trademark. She didn't know how she'd feel if she chopped it off.

She didn't even hear Robert come in. She didn't notice him until he cleared his throat and she snapped her head up, her eyes instantly narrowing.

"Do you have any more ice cream?" he asked her. She could tell from the way that he was looking at her that he was wondering how much he irked her. He clearly thought that he _did _annoy her, and he was clearly amused by that.

Cherry stood, smoothing out her skirt. "I didn't realize you were still here."

Robert raised his eyebrows, and Cherry thought perhaps she was being _too _cold. After all, first impressions weren't everything. But they seemed like a lot when the person was coldly criticizing everything you'd already done.

"Sorry to disappoint you, sugar," he grinned. Cherry ignored the same small flutter of her heart at his charming, wide smile, and she turned away.

"Don't even think about," she said slowly.

"Sorry," he muttered, shoving his hands in his pockets. "...Sugar."

Cherry turned her head and glared, pausing in her act of drawing the ice cream from the icebox. "Think you're funny?" she asked.

He threw his hands up. "I leave that to other people," he said, shrugging.

Cherry scowled at him. "Here's your ice cream," she muttered, shoving it into his chest. "Now can you go away? Please?"

His eyes went wide with surprise, and Cherry thought to herself that he probably didn't get a lot of people asking him to go away.

"Am I bothering you?"

Cherry clenched her teeth together, her hands balled into fists at her sides. "What gave you that impression?"

He sighed. "Listen," he said. "I know I might have ... gone a little overboard." Cherry raised her eyebrows. He shrugged his shoulders. "But this is a really special night for my parents. I just want it to be perfect."

Cherry stopped short at the way he spoke, modestly and quietly, looking at the floor as he did. Everything about him radiated charm and confidence, even when he was being reticent. She blinked at him, wondering if maybe she _had _misjudged him.

"Which is why it probably would have better at _our _house," he went on, and Cherry felt her stomach plummet uncomfortably. "But it would have been hard to keep it as a surprise."

Cherry said nothing – she just swallowed and waited for him to leave.

He cast his eyes over the magazine, and his eyebrows shot skyward. "You thinkin' of cuttin' your hair?" he asked her, blinking.

"What does that matter?" Cherry replied, before she'd thought about it.

Robert looked at it thoughtfully, and shook his head. "I don't know. It ain't really my place to say – but you don't wanna ruin your pretty face by cutting all your hair off."

Cherry tried not to frown at him. "Oh save it," she breathed, rolling her eyes. He threw his hands up defensively.

"Fine," he muttered. "I don't even know what I did."

"You did enough," she replied coolly, and the bit her tongue.

He just chuckled. "Whatever. See you around, sugar."

* * *

The next time Cherry saw Robert was far sooner than she would have liked. About two days after the party, her mom and stepfather had gone to get the groceries, and taken Cherry's younger siblings with them. It was just her and her younger sister from their mother's first marriage in the house, when he stopped in with a thank you card and a bottle of wine.

"I thought," he said sheepishly, eyeing Cherry up and down. "If there was any cleaning up that needed done, I'd help out?"

Cherry sighed. "You mean you'd send the maid over?"

He laughed. "Alright, sugar, you made your point, you don't like me, I'm an asshole, whatever." Cherry blinked at him. She couldn't help but wonder if she'd seen him before. She had the feeling that she would have remembered him if she had met him – he had dark eyes that held a dignified recklessness to them, and they seemed to twinkle all the time. He was hard to miss, she'd admit that.

She racked her brain for something to say, something she could say in response to that. "But at least let me help," he added. "Call it an apology."

Cherry sighed. "Look, Robert –"

"Bob."

"What?" she said sharply.

"I like Bob better," he told her, and she nodded.

"Well, look, it's all done. It's been two days. Thanks for offering, I don't think it's really your scene."

He raised his eyebrows. "Helpin' out a pretty girl isn't my scene?"

Cherry rolled her eyes. "You'd probably have something else to say about the rest of my house if I let you in my front door," she muttered. "I'm not interested in listening to how much better you are than me."

It was very clear that he thought he was better than everybody else.

"That's what you think?" Bob asked her incredulously.

"You made that pretty clear," Cherry said coldly.

"Sugar –"

"I said don't go there," Cherry snapped. He grinned.

"Sorry sugar, I can't help it." For a split second, Cherry thought about what she was doing, but by the time she'd thought it over, she'd already gone and slammed the door right in his face. She took a deep breath, waiting for her flush to fade. He could be as cocky as he liked, she wasn't going to fall for that.

* * *

Cherry chomped hard on her gum, sure that she was emanating as icy a vibe as she could. Her arms were tightly folded in front of her, and Bob drummed his fingers lightly on the steering wheel.

"Damn," he muttered. "Do you mind if we stop for gas?"

Cherry chewed on the inside of her cheek. "Does it matter?"

"No," Bob said truthfully, grinning as he pulled into the nearest gas station. She sighed to herself when he got out of the car. In the back seat were bags of groceries.

She should never have offered to get groceries for her mother – then she wouldn't have to sit there and listen to Bob try and make small conversation. She didn't _want _to tell him what music she liked, or where she liked to hang out, or which of his friends she liked.

She had maintained an icy silence from the moment he'd offered her a ride to the grocery store and her mother had accepted it for her. She couldn't think of a way out of it without being exceptionally rude, and her mother wouldn't have allowed that.

It was just started to rain, and idly Cherry watched the drops hit the windshield and trail down it while Bob got the gas. Her leg was bouncing fitfully, and she made a mental note to _never _offer to do something for her mother while the Sheldons were there.

A lot of people liked Bob. Gina and Marcia liked Bob. Sometimes, Cherry thought she liked Bob – but then he'd go and say something profoundly stupid and haughty, and she'd rethink that evaluation very quickly.

When he was around, it was like someone had set the air on fire, and she spent a lot of the time in his presence wishing she was somewhere else, anywhere else.

"Lousy greasers," Bob muttered when he got back into the car, and Cherry blinked at him.

"What about them?"

He shrugged. "Scum."

She didn't reply and he didn't seem to have much left to say. She let out a heavy sigh and wiggled into a more comfortable position in her seat, glancing out her window.

"You don't like me, do you?" Bob said bemusedly.

Cherry didn't miss a beat. "I don't dislike you."

Bob let out a bark of laughter. "Sorry. I don't mean to get you all hacked off."

"Maybe you should keep your trap shut more often then," Cherry grumbled. He acted like he didn't hear her. He started up the car then, and Cherry glanced back at the greasers working at the gas station. One of them was still looking at the car like he was trying to make sure they were leaving without a fuss. She stifled a shudder, whirling back around.

It was odd to think it, but she felt safe there, in Bob's car. She knew that greasers carried blades and heaters and even the occasional chain, and they'd start a fight for no reason. Sure, the guys on her side of town would start a fight if you pushed them, and she'd heard of a couple of the rowdier ones going a little insane. It was rough there too – but even she knew that it wasn't as rough as it was on the other side of town.

She didn't have much experience with them – she'd never met one, and generally the ones in her school tended to leave the girls alone, unless they were feeling brazen and decided they'd try their luck hitting on her or one of her friends. All she had to go on was reputation – and that was enough. If they were half as bad as the things she heard about, she never wanted to meet one.

Bob pulled up outside her house and turned to look at her.

"Thanks," she mumbled, as he leaned across her to push her door open. She flushed and looked away, swallowing.

"Anytime," he told her. "Really." She looked back at him, her eyebrows knitting together. "I wished you wouldn't hate me so much."

Cherry opened her mouth to speak, but she didn't know what to tell him. She wanted to tell him that she didn't hate him. She didn't really – he just aggravated her. It was starting to rain a little heavier now, and she leaned in the back door to take out the groceries.

She took two, and struggled with the last one, until Bob picked it up. "Here, I got it." He took the last one and shut the door. Cherry went around until the other side, scowling. "No it's fine, I've got it."

"No really, it's cool," Bob said. Frowning to herself at his apparent chivalry, she made to snatch at the bag.

"I've _got it!" _she said forcefully, but her fingers caught only the paper material of the bag and ripped right down the middle, the contents spilling out all over the drenched sidewalk.

The rain quickly dissolved the bag to mush, and Cherry threw down the other two bags.

"Look what you did now!" she yelped, pushing back her hair plastered to her face.

"It wasn't my fault!" he replied. "You're the one who grabbed the bag."

"If you had just let me take it," she yelled back, stomping her foot, "this wouldn't have happened. You're always trying to do this. You think you're in charge of everything."

"No I don't!" Bob said heatedly.

"You do, you think you're so much better than everybody else," said Cherry, bending to scoop up the fallen groceries.

"C'mon Cherry, don't say that," he said pleadingly. He took hold of her elbow, and she looked around, rolling her eyes. "I'm not like that."

"Then why do you act like it?"

Bob's ears went red, and Cherry yanked her arm free so she could gather up the groceries in the pouring rain. She was soaked, though she was saved from the brunt of it by her rainjacket. Bob was getting soaked. He didn't let go of her arm, and the one thing she'd picked up fell from her hand.

"C'mon Cherry, I ain't that bad," he muttered, grinning. She didn't reply, and he tugged on her arm. A second later, he'd pressed his lips to hers. Cherry froze, dumbstruck. She caught onto his shoulders to steady herself, and he pulled back, scanning her face intently.

Cherry gulped, stepping away from him. Blood was rising up and tainting the skin at her collarbone, and her ears were burning. She bent down to get the groceries, and Bob said nothing.

After a minute, he bent down beside her and picked up the remainder. Once she stood, he held out his hand and she deposited what she had in her hands into his in the silence. She couldn't meet his eye, and she kept shaking her head, and biting her lip, trying to stop the goofy smile that was spreading across her lips. What was _wrong _with her?

She had no idea what to say. She was shocked into silence, and she kept wishing Bob would say something. Anything. That familiar flutter that she felt every time Bob smiled was back, now with a steady beat that she couldn't quell.

Cherry watched from the window as he drove away, pushing back the saturated hair from her face. She kept feeling like she should have said something, anything. She'd barely said two words, mumbling thanks and bye when he was leaving. This _never _happened. She never fell short of something to say, she never got embarrassed around a boy, or felt herself flush over a _kiss._

In spite of herself, she remembered the feel of his lips on hers, how soft they were, just the right amount of pressure on hers, and the fluttering of her heart rose to a hammering for a few seconds, until she caught her breath and caught hold of herself. She shook her head, like she could shake the thoughts and her memories out through her ears. It didn't work.

* * *

"C'mon Cherry," Bob said, smiling sweetly. "Go out with me."

"What part of no is so hard for you to understand?" Cherry sighed.

"The part where you won't go out with me!" he said, laughing.

Cherry rolled her eyes and glanced over at her friends with a bemused smile. They were gazing over at Cherry and Bob, who were standing in line at the cafeteria to get some food, with great curiosity.

"No means no, Bob," she said in a clipped voice. A lot of the time Bob still annoyed her, and that one time with the groceries wasn't about to change her mind. He bossed people around, and acted like he was better than everybody else.

"But _why?" _he asked. Cherry filled her tray, and Bob wasn't paying any attention to what he piled onto his – his attention was fixated on her, and she doubted he had the faintest clue what he had just taken.

"I don't know," Cherry said, genuinely apologetic. He wouldn't stop asking her, but her answer never changed. She could stand Bob, because her friends liked him, and Marcia had just started dating Bob's best friend Randy – but she didn't know if she would be able to tolerate being alone with him, for such an amount of time. "I just don't really think it's a good time."

Bob pouted, and she twitched her shoulders up, muttering sorry again. "You keep asking me," she pointed out. Thinking of the time he'd kissed her over the ripped grocery bag, she flushed and looked at her feet as she spoke. "Why do you keep thinking you'll get a different answer?"

Bob shrugged his shoulders, flashing that grin that made her heart flutter. He could be charming when he wanted to. But then he'd go and say something obnoxious, and Cherry would feel sick.

"I guess I keep thinking you'll come around one of these days," he sighed wistfully, and she threw him a wan smile.

"Yeah maybe one of these days," she said jokingly, but his arched eyebrows said that he wasn't about to take that as a joke.

She decided to sit with Marcia, Gina, Randy and some of Randy's friends whose names she always mixed up, instead of with the cheerleaders, and Bob followed her.

"Yeah maybe one day you will," he muttered as they walked.

"Sure," she replied, but she shook her head. You couldn't let your guard down for anybody – not even another Soc. In fact, you probably had to be even more reserved around Socs.

* * *

Cherry ducked her head down and slipped past her friends, intent on heading to her locker and dumping her books before she went to lunch. It was the sunniest day she had seen in forever, and her friends were keenly observing a greaser and one of their friends having a fight before the teacher broke it up and gave them both detention.

The greasers always started it. She had sat enough lunches with Randy and Bob and their friends to know all about that. Sure it looked bad from a greaser's end of things – what could them rich kids possibly have to complain about? But those hoods always started the trouble – it was sort of pathetic, the way they had to attack the Socs at everything they did.

No Soc ever asked for any of it – a fight, or cheating in drag races, or robbing a store – but every Soc Cherry knew was damn prepared to finish it. Randy would fight any greaser who looked at him twice. Bob probably would too.

Cherry wasn't as interested in watching the fight as her friends were, so she beat out of there quickly, escaping the "action." It was hard to always be friendly to people Cherry would consider friends. Socs were like that. They were always on their guard.

She marched around the corner, into a hallway that was almost completely deserted, since a hell of a lot of people were watching the fight, and it was so nice outside.

"C'mon man," she heard Bob saying. She ducked back behind the corner. "It's only a test."

Cherry blinked. He was talking to some greaser. Not kindly or like he'd talk to a friend, but he was there, talking to him. "Cool your jets," he was saying. "Just take it easy, it's only a test. No big deal."

The greaser muttered something Cherry couldn't hear and he stalked off, looking murderous. Bob threw up his hands in defense and walked the other way, down to where his books were.

She blinked, and swallowed as she watched his retreating back. That had been almost ... _sweet._

* * *

Cherry sat sandwiched in between Marcia and Gina, who were both asking her about the cheerleaders' dietary habits.

Cherry shrugged her shoulders. "How should I know?" she said. "I probably eat more than the rest of them put together."

Marcia frowned, dissatisfied with that answer. Gina snorted. "I'm sure the rest of them are just like that," she said, laughing.

Marcia nodded. "I heard some girls were making themselves ... throw up."

Cherry choked on her salad. "And that helps how?"

Marcia shrugged her shoulders. "Makes them skinnier."

Cherry shuddered. "Doesn't sound healthy to me. I bet their mamas are so proud."

Gina sniggered, and waved at Randy as he came up behind Marcia and kissed her cheek. "Where's Bob?" Gina asked him.

Randy sat down on Marcia's other side, nodding to her friends. "Oh, he's doing a makeup test," he muttered. "He won't be allowed to go to Scott's party if he doesn't pass it."

Cherry frowned into her food. That didn't sound much like Bob's parents. From what she could tell – and her mom and stepfather were real friendly with Mr. and Mrs. Sheldon – Bob got away with near bloody murder.

When Bob _did _come along, grumbling, he looked at Cherry and grinned. "Should I even bother asking?"

Smiling placidly, she shook her head, and he shrugged, sitting down opposite Randy. "Man, my parents are gonna kill me if I don't ace that test," he said. Cherry raised her eyebrows, and she caught his eye for just a second. His flush barely tinged his cheeks and it was near impossible to notice, but Cherry did. Just barely.

"So what are we doing later?" one of Randy's friends - Scott or David or Adam or something else - grinned at Bob.

"I don't know," Bob shrugged. "Whatever's fine."

Cherry couldn't help but blink at the confused expression on his friend's face. "So what," he said. "Like, catch a movie, or hunt up some trouble or ..."

"Look guys, I don't really care," Bob said lightly.

"You're the one with the car," one of his friends said. Bob tried not to scowl.

"Fine," he said eventually. "I guess we can go bowling or something."

Cherry blinked – those friends of his needed a leader. That much was clear. And maybe that leader was Bob. In fact, there was no 'maybe' about it. It was pretty obvious. Bob glanced up at her again, and looked away quickly, going red at being caught looking at her.

It struck her suddenly that maybe Bob kept acting like he was so much better than everybody else was because his friends needed him to act that way. If he was going to lead the crowd, then he had to be better than the crowd. And maybe he acted that way because he needed _her _to think he was better than everybody else. Maybe he actually cared about what she thought.

She was the only girl who had ever challenged him. All the other girls in school thought he was as handsome as a movie star and just as charming – it seemed to Cherry like she was the only one with a brain, who cared about his brain.

But she couldn't help think – he _was _different. Maybe he _was _a little better than all his buddies. They seemed to look up to him – and it had annoyed her, because it had seemed like he put himself up there on that pedestal. But now it seemed like he hadn't. She knew there was a softer side, a side that felt bad for flunking greasers and lied about his parents letting him do whatever he wanted.

She just wanted everybody else to see it.

"Ain't you gonna eat anything?" Randy asked Bob. "We've only got ten minutes."

Bob glared. "What are you, my mom?" he said savagely, probably a little meaner than he'd intended. "I get enough babying at home." One more time, he glanced at Cherry. Her heart fluttered again – and this time Cherry didn't think it was because he was so handsome. In fact, it caught her off guard. He didn't look all that handsome when he was mad.

* * *

Cherry, Gina and Marcia had their heads together as they walked. Gina had finished spilling all the details when she snapped her head to look at Cherry.

"You ain't gonna believe this," she cautioned. "But I think Bob's finally given up on you."

She leaned up against her locker and folded her arms. Cherry's eyebrows shot skyward. "Is that so?" she asked nonchalantly. Marcia nodded.

"Randy told me he's gonna ask Laurie Benson, you know Laurie Benson right?"

Cherry blinked, and tried not to react as outraged as she felt. She knew Laurie Benson. And suddenly she was filled with an irrational and completely fresh hatred for Laurie Benson that she had never experienced before. For some strange reason, she wanted to stomp her foot and squeal that Laurie Benson wasn't any good for a girlfriend. But she couldn't.

She just nodded. Gina watched her carefully, narrowing her eyes. "Does that ... does that bother you, Cherry?"

Cherry shook her head. "Why would that bother me?"

Gina smirked. "It sure looks like it's bothering you."

Cherry shook her head; she wasn't even entertaining the thought of admitting how much it was bothering her. It had no reason to aggravate her – hadn't she spent the best part of two months complaining about how Bob was annoying her with asking her out all the time? Hadn't she just been expressing her wish that she'd go away? She frowned at her shoes as she walked to class.

* * *

"Hey, Cherry! Cherry!"

Cherry whipped around. She was walking home in the sun by herself, and the last person she expected to see walking behind her was Bob.

"Hi," she smiled at him.

"Mind if I walk with you?" he asked.

"Well, if I say no, are you gonna go away?" Cherry laughed.

Bob grinned good-naturedly. "C'mon, I'll carry your bag and everything."

Pleasantly surprised, Cherry handed over her bag and tried not to make her flush or goofy grin too obvious. Conversation was light and idle for a while. He asked about her mom and her husband, and the three kids she'd had ten years after she'd had the last one.

"Oh guess what," he said eventually, grinning at her.

Cherry eyed him warily, waiting.

"I ain't about to ask you out," Bob assured her. "That's exactly it. You don't need to keep shooting me down anymore." Cherry raised her eyebrows cautiously – her heart stuttered awkwardly, and she came to a halt in the middle of the pavement.

He nodded proudly. "Yeah. I'm callin' it."

"You are?" Cherry said, trying not to let how appalled she was show on her face.

He nodded. "Yeah, but don't worry," he said, winking. "I'll still let you be my friend."

Cherry grinned breathlessly, chewing on her lip.

"Something wrong?" he asked, frowning.

"Well..." Cherry gulped, casting a glance around her. "Maybe ..." she took a deep breath, wondering where her wild thoughts were meant to be going. She could feel her heart slamming against her chest – she couldn't calm it, she couldn't explain it.

"Maybe what?" Bob grinned, beckoning like he was trying to make her walk again.

"Maybe you should ask me one more time," Cherry choked out, in a hoarse voice. Bob's hands dropped to his side, and he gaped at her. She stared at her feet for a long time.

"Serious?" Bob said, sounding a little hacked off and incredulous.

Cherry swallowed, and thought hard about telling him that of course she wasn't serious, she was only playing around. But the words wouldn't come out. It was hard to meet his eyes, and she had no idea what was wrong with her.

Bob grinned – that same dazzling smile that always made her heart flutter. Only now her heart was doing more than fluttering, it was whirring painfully fast, and her breathing was constricted.

"Cherry?" he said and waited until she glanced up at him.

"You wanna – you wanna catch a movie this Saturday or something?"

Cherry blinked up at him. She could say anything. She could laugh it off. She could do anything she liked. And after two months of blatant no's and no questions asked, Cherry couldn't say no any longer.

He was smiling sweetly, genuinely at her as he took a step closer to her, eyeing her with a wary, oddly bemused expression.

Cherry nodded up at him, clearing her throat. "Maybe – maybe that wouldn't be so bad," she said, chuckling.

Bob grinned. "Yeah maybe," he said, rolling his eyes. Before she could restrain herself, she threw her arms around his neck, and he kissed her softly, his hands at her hair.

When he pulled back, he was grinning at her, and her heart fluttered again. He laughed lightly. "Told you you'd come around."

* * *

For anyone who cares, my oneshot _Happily Ever After _does sort of tie in with this, but it wasn't planned that way. Think what you want. Thanks to TheNightimeSky for looking over this - she also has a great Bob oneshot that you should check out. Thanks for reading!


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